2020–21 Cairns Taipans season

The 2020–21 Cairns Taipans season is the 22nd season for the Cairns Taipans in the NBL, and their third season under the guidance of Head Coach Mike Kelly.

2020–21 Cairns Taipans season
Head Coach Mike Kelly
Captain Scott Machado
StadiumCairns Pop-Up Arena, Cairns
Cairns Convention Centre, Cairns
NBL results
Ladder8th
Wins1
Losses5
Biggest win1 point
87-86 (vs Kings)
Biggest defeat20 points
70-90 (vs Hawks)
Home Attendance
Highest attendance1,930 (16 January 2021)
Lowest attendance1,808 (18 January 2021)
Average attendance1,880
Player Records
Efficiency leader Cameron Oliver
53%
Scoring leader Cameron Oliver
18.8
Rebounding leader Cameron Oliver
10.5
Assists leader Scott Machado
8.8
All statistics correct as of 30 January 2021.

Season summary

After a successful campaign the season prior, the Taipans faced an early setback when it was announced that the redevelopment of the Cairns Convention Centre had been delayed and was unavailable for use until early February of 2020, two months after the NBL announced the delayed season would start.[1] After meeting with the Queensland Minister for Housing, Public Works and Sports Mick de Brenni, it was announced that the redevelopment timeline would not be adjusted for the Taipans.[2] Following more discussions between the club and the state government, it was announced that the government would redevelop an old warehouse capable to host games across the two month period between the start of the season and when the Convention Centre becomes available, with the temporary stadium able to hold 2,000 seats.[3]

Squad

Signings
Main article: List of 2020–21 NBL season transactions
  • The Taipans only retained one of their players over the off-season, Majok Deng, who had signed a multiple season contract before the 2019–20 season.[4] Head Coach Mike Kelly had also already signed for the 2020–21 season.[5]
  • On 13 March 2020, Mojave King was signed as a Next Star player.[6] King signed with the Taipans on a three-year deal as part of the Next Stars program, which "contracts Draft eligible players in order to prepare and fast-track them to the NBA, providing an alternative option to attending college."[6]
  • On 7 March 2020, the Taipans announced that they'd taken the club option on the contracts of Mirko Djeric, Fabijan Krslovic and Kouat Noi, who would all return to Cairns on a one-year deal.[7]
  • On 3 August 2020, the Taipans re-signed co-captain Nathan Jawai on an two-year deal, extending his stint at the club to at least seven years.[8]
  • On 6 August 2020, Jarrod Kenny joined the list of returning Taipans and signed a one-season deal with the club.[9]
  • On 14 August 2020, the Taipans signed Jordan Ngatai to a two-year deal.[10]
  • On 3 September 2020, George Blagojevic re-signed with the club on a two-year deal (with the second year being a club option).[11]
  • On 16 November 2020, Cameron Oliver re-signed with the Snakes on a two-year deal, signing as the team's first import for the 2020–21 season,[12]
  • On 22 November 2020, Scott Machado completed the Taipans' roster by also signing a two-year deal.[13]
  • On 22 December 2020, Jordan Hunt was announced as the Taipans only development player for the season. Tad Dufelmeier and Koen Sapwell were also announced as the training players for the club.[14]

Roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

2020–21 Cairns Taipans roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.Age
F 0 Oliver, Cameron (I) 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 102 kg (225 lb) 24 – (1996-07-11)11 July 1996
G 1 King, Mojave (NS) 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 18 – (2002-06-11)11 June 2002
G 3 Machado, Scott (I & C) 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 82 kg (181 lb) 30 – (1990-06-08)8 June 1990
G 5 Đerić, Mirko 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 82 kg (181 lb) 25 – (1995-04-17)17 April 1995
G 6 Kenny, Jarrod 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 87 kg (192 lb) 35 – (1985-09-17)17 September 1985
F 9 Blagojevic, George 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 24 – (1996-10-18)18 October 1996
C 10 Hunt, Jordan (DP) 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 108 kg (238 lb) 23 – (1997-09-12)12 September 1997
F 11 Ngatai, Jordan 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 98 kg (216 lb) 27 – (1993-03-07)7 March 1993
F 12 Noi, Kouat 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 93 kg (205 lb) 23 – (1997-10-29)29 October 1997
F 13 Deng, Majok 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 84 kg (185 lb) 27 – (1993-03-01)1 March 1993
C 15 Jawai, Nathan 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) 140 kg (309 lb) 34 – (1986-10-10)10 October 1986
F 20 Krslovic, Fabijan 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 108 kg (238 lb) 25 – (1995-06-23)23 June 1995
G 33 Dufelmeier, Tad (TP) 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 79 kg (174 lb) 24 – (1996-02-09)9 February 1996
G Sapwell, Koen (TP) 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 83 kg (183 lb)
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Team manager
  • Brett Havercroft
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Development player
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (I) Import player
  • (TP) Training player
  • (NS) Next Star player
  • Injured
Updated: 22 December 2020
Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2 Development
C Cameron Oliver Nathan Jawai Jordan Hunt
PF Majok Deng Fabijan Krslovic
SF Kouat Noi Jordan Ngatai George Blagojevic
SG Mirko Djeric Mojave King
PG Scott Machado Jarrod Kenny

Pre-season

Ladder
2020-21 NBL pre-season ladder
LadderInformation
Pos.Nat.NamePld.W.L.Last 5StreakHomeAwayForAgainstPts %Win %
1 Melbourne United 1 1 0 1-0 W1 0-0 1-0 97 81 119.75% 100.00%
2 Sydney Kings 1 1 0 1-0 W1 1-0 0-0 98 89 110.11% 100.00%
3 Adelaide 36ers 3 2 1 2-1 L1 2-0 0-1 276 225 122.67% 66.67%
4 Perth Wildcats (RC) 2 1 1 1-1 L1 1-1 0-0 165 165 100.00% 50.00%
5 Cairns Taipans 2 1 1 1-1 W1 1-1 0-0 177 185 95.68% 50.00%
6 Brisbane Bullets 4 2 2 2-2 W2 2-0 0-2 347 378 91.80% 50.00%
7 The Hawks 3 1 2 1-2 L1 0-0 1-2 254 263 96.58% 33.33%
8 SEM Phoenix 2 0 2 0-2 L2 0-0 0-2 198 210 94.29% 0.00%
NZ Breakers 0 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0.00% 0.00%

Total Rounds
5 weeks

Total Games
11 games

Legend
  • (RC) Reigning Champion
  • Updated: 9 January 2021

December
31 December 2020
18:00
Cairns Taipans 81–97 Melbourne United
Scoring by quarter: 24–18, 13–22, 20–31, 24–26
Pts: King 21
Rebs: Krslovic 7
Asts: Machado 6		 Pts: Goulding 17
Rebs: Landale 8
Asts: McCarron 5
Cairns Pop-Up Arena, Cairns
Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, Alex McEwan, Jacqui Dover

January
9 January 2021
18:00
Cairns Taipans 96–88 Adelaide 36ers
Scoring by quarter: 26–22, 15–18, 27–26, 28–22
Pts: Noi 22
Rebs: Oliver 11
Asts: Machado 8		 Pts: Sloan 24
Rebs: Johnson 10
Asts: Dillon 3
Cairns Pop-Up Arena, Cairns
Attendance: 1,000
Referees: Marc Mill, Alex McEwan, Jacqui Dover

Regular season

Ladder
2020-21 NBL ladder
LadderInformation
Pos.Nat.NamePld.W.L.Last 5StreakHomeAwayForAgainstPts %Win %
1 The Hawks 4 4 0 4-0 W4 0-0 4-0 362 312 116.03% 100.00%
2 Melbourne United 4 4 0 4-0 W4 1-0 3-0 381 336 113.39% 100.00%
3 Adelaide 36ers 6 4 2 4-1 W3 4-2 0-0 531 535 99.25% 66.67%
4 Perth Wildcats (RC) 2 1 1 1-1 L1 1-1 0-0 177 166 106.63% 50.00%
5 SEM Phoenix 5 2 3 2-3 L1 0-0 2-3 453 472 95.97% 40.00%
6 Brisbane Bullets 5 2 3 2-3 L1 2-3 0-0 457 479 95.41% 40.00%
7 Sydney Kings 4 1 3 1-3 L2 0-0 1-3 352 353 99.72% 25.00%
8 Cairns Taipans 6 1 5 0-5 L5 1-4 0-1 512 559 91.59% 16.67%
9 NZ Breakers 2 0 2 0-2 L2 0-0 0-2 169 182 92.86% 0.00%

Current Round
Round 4
Total Rounds
TBD
Games per Team
36
Total Games
162

Legend
  • (RC) Reigning Champion
  • Ladder
    Updated: 5 February 2021

Ladder progression
  • Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top four.
  • Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
  • Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.
Team 1 2 3 4 5
Adelaide 36ers 3533
Brisbane Bullets 6956
Cairns Taipans 4788
Melbourne United 1122
New Zealand Breakers –899
Perth Wildcats –244
South East Melbourne Phoenix 7665
Sydney Kings 5477
The Hawks 2311

Round 1
16 January 2021
19:00
Cairns Taipans 87–86 Sydney Kings
Scoring by quarter: 24–30, 26–21, 14–19, 23–16
Pts: Machado 17
Rebs: Oliver 11
Asts: Machado 8		 Pts: Ware 18
Rebs: Martin 8
Asts: Bruce 4
Cairns Pop-Up Arena, Cairns
Attendance: 1,919
Referees: Chris Reid, Nathan Durant, Daniel Battye
18 January 2021
18:30
Cairns Taipans 76–92 The Hawks
Scoring by quarter: 19–31, 22–19, 19–19, 16–23
Pts: Deng 20
Rebs: Oliver 12
Asts: Machado 11		 Pts: Harvey 25
Rebs: Simon 12
Asts: Harvey 7
Cairns Pop-Up Arena, Cairns
Attendance: 1,808
Referees: Chris Reid, Daniel Battye, Mitch Hare

Round 2
23 January 2021
19:00
Cairns Taipans 91–99 Sydney Kings
Scoring by quarter: 22–23, 15–23, 34–26, 20–27
Pts: Oliver 27
Rebs: Oliver 10
Asts: Machado 9		 Pts: Martin, Ware 22
Rebs: Martin 11
Asts: Bruce, Moller 4
Cairns Pop-Up Arena, Cairns
Attendance: 1,930
Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, Mitch Hare, Ruben Woolcock
25 January 2021
18:30
Cairns Taipans 85–87 Melbourne United
Scoring by quarter: 21–29, 24–22, 17–18, 23–18
Pts: Machado 19
Rebs: Oliver 13
Asts: Machado 6		 Pts: Landale 19
Rebs: Lual-Acuil 11
Asts: Ili, McCarron 4
Cairns Pop-Up Arena, Cairns
Attendance: 1,896
Referees: Chris Reid, Daniel Battye, Ruben Woolcock

Round 3
28 January 2021
18:30
Cairns Taipans 70–90 The Hawks
Scoring by quarter: 12–19, 24–26, 19–16, 15–29
Pts: Oliver 20
Rebs: Oliver 11
Asts: Machado 7		 Pts: Harvey 21
Rebs: Simon 8
Asts: Simon 5
Cairns Pop-Up Arena, Cairns
Attendance: 1,849
Referees: Chris Reid, Mitch Hare, Ruben Woolcock
30 January 2021
16:30
Brisbane Bullets 105–103 (OT) Cairns Taipans
Scoring by quarter: 19–23, 21–32, 21–17, 29–18, Overtime: 15–13
Pts: Sobey 30
Rebs: Law 11
Asts: Sobey 5		 Pts: Machado 23
Rebs: Oliver 8
Asts: Machado 10
Nissan Arena, Brisbane
Attendance: 4,065
Referees: Chris Reid, Nathan Durrant, Mark Mill

Round 4

Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9

See also

References
  1. King, Gavin (8 June 2020). "Cairns Convention Centre redevelopment delayed yet again". www.tropicnow.com.au. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  2. Mason, Grace (2 July 2020). "'Taipans must stay in Cairns': Minister to meet with club". www.cairnspost.com.au. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  3. Gerrans, Jordan. "Cairns prepares for brand new NBL home". www.cairnspost.com.au. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  4. "PLAYER SIGNING | Majok Deng". www.taipans.com.
  5. "Taipans Coach of the Year signs on for two more". www.taipans.com.
  6. "Mojave King signs with Cairns Taipans as part of NBL's Next Stars program". www.foxsports.com.au.
  7. "NBL: Cairns Taipans lock in three for upcoming season". www.cairnspost.com.au.
  8. Gerrans, Jordan (3 August 2020). "Co-captain locked in for NBL club". www.cairnspost.com.au. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  9. "Persistence pays off for Jarrod Kenny as he secures new Cairns deal to go with NBL title". Stuff. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  10. "Taipans welcome Jordan Ngatai". www.taipans.com. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  11. Bowles, Annabel (3 September 2020). "Blagojevic completes Taipans' 2020-21 stellar local lineup | Tropic Now - Cairns News". www.tropicnow.com.au. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  12. Uluc, Olgun (16 November 2020). "Taipans secure star import Cameron Oliver". ESPN.com. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  13. McInerney, Matthew (22 November 2020). "NBL: Scott Machado, Cairns Taipans, agree to a two-year deal". GeelongAdvertiser.com.au. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  14. "Taipans sign development player Jordan Hunt". Taipans.com. 22 December 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
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